Scientology website hacked; teenager pleads guilty

 

 

Eighteen year-old Dmitriy Guzner of New Jersey,  admitted just recently that he is responsible for the crash of the Church of Scientology websites. Filed information reveals that Guzner is a member of an Internet-based group called “Anonymous”, an underground movement that strongly oppose the principles and doctrines of Scientology. 

 

The cyber-attack was carried out through the launch of a distributed denial of service (DDOS). In order for the sites to be unavailable for use to legitimate users, Guzner has employed the DDOS technique to direct a large volume of internet traffic into the organization’s website. The attacks were done in January of this year. 

 

The Los Angeles Justice Department has recently informed the public that is set to formally plead guilty in the next few weeks. The teenager will be facing up to 10 years of service at the federal prison for computer hacking. 

 

Founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1954, the Church of Scientology has generated a myriad of negative reactions among the locals of the United States. Originally a movement of people who had a radical set of beliefs, Scientology was officially recognized as a religion in 1994 and has attracted a number of Hollywood personalities such as Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Oprah Winfrey.

Daniel Radcliffe admits to having neurological disorder

The Harry Potter series lead star admitted just recently that he has long been diagnosed with Dyspraxia, a brain disorder that is characterized by a flawed development of a person’s physical, intellectual, or speech and language skills. Daniel Radcliffe admitted his condition in a press conference where media men were amazed by how Radcliffe managed to perfectly perform his roles in both his movie and stage projects with this disorder. The young movie and stage actor also revealed that the disorder was the very thing that drew him into acting since he was already becoming more and more disappointed about his performance in school.

Dr. David Younger, an expert on dyspraxia from the NYU Medical School says Radcliffe clearly suffers from a mild form of the disease. Dr. Younger then commended the young actor for being great in his craft despite his condition. This makes him a role model and an inspiration for other people who are having the same neurological problem.

Dyspraxia, which has no obvious cause, makes people who have it have difficulty in learning, thinking out, planning, and carrying out sensory or motor tasks. In Daniel Radcliffe’s case, he says he is having trouble tying his shoes.

This neurological disorder is usually made evident by poor balance, poor posture, difficulty with throwing and catching a ball, poor motor coordination, speech problems, intolerance of having nails and hair cut, phobias, impatience, and obsessive behavior. Dyspraxia can be treated through religious physiotherapy, brain gym, speech therapy, and occupational therapy.

Local IT Organizations seek to address BPO Industry Needs

IT sectors in the Philippines are determined to focus on the appropriate development of Filipino human resources in order for them to be equipped to respond to the demands of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.

The labor market intelligence report released recently by the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Southern Mindanao showed that the highly critical skills demand from 2006-2010 point to those needed for the BPO industry. Statistics yielded a total of 996,504 highly critical skills demand from all sectors; 962,259 of which fall under the BPO industry.

With this, the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector in Mindanao is set to address this recognized urgency to hone local talents for the outsourcing industry. The Mindanao TVET association is taking its first step by organizing a conference that will serve as a venue to review and understand the overall effect of globalization through information technology on the country’s competitiveness and educational system. The Mindanao TVET Human Resource Skills Development conference is set to be held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, Davao City on August 6-8.

Outsource providers and IT enthusiasts from all over the Philippines have started to forge alliances with local government units and academic institutions in order to better address the need for BPO human resource needs. More and more schools have enhanced their IT and computer courses in order to produce quality and highly-competitive graduates. In Davao City, TESDA accredited schools have started offering short diploma courses on BPO-related functions.

Commissioner Monchito Ibrahim of the Commission on Information, Communication, and Technology (CCIT) informed the public just recently that the agency’s current top concern is to develop next wave cities for the local BPO industry. He further stated that the BPO industry is highly beneficial to the Philippines as it can create more jobs, boost the economy, support other IT-based businesses, and allow people to work closer to their hometowns.

Ibrahim is positive that the Philippines will continue to encourage the development of more cities where more BPO related investments can be located. As India only has seven cities, Ibrahim is positive that the country is of great advantage as we still have 24 more cities to be developed into outsourcing hubs aside from Metro Manila.

The nation’s employment statistics show that BPO is now a major industry in the Philippines. The Bureau of Investment reports that approximately 112,000 Filipinos currently work in call centers and other outsourcing agencies.